for adult frogs), because large frogs are energetically too costly for juveniles to catch, or because juveniles are at risk if swallowing prey requires a long time. Using its vomeronasal organ, also called Jacobson's organ, the snake can detect parvalbumins in the cutaneous mucus of its prey. Reproduction The species is viviparous, giving birth to live young. The brood size varies from 15 to 20 young born in late July or August. Newborns are 200–240 mm (about 8.0–9.5 in) in total length. The banded water snake is able to hybridize with the common watersnake, although this is not frequent. Physical characteristics are insufficient to distinguish such hybrids, and DNA analysis is required. Subspecies The three recognized subspecies of N. fasciata, including the nominotypical subspecies, are: N. f. confluens (Blanchard, 1923) - Broad-banded water snake - Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, East Texas. N. f. fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766) - East Texas, Louisiana, southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, western Mississippi, southern Alabama, Florida, southern Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, southeast Missouri and Illinois. N. f. pictiventris (Cope, 1895) – Florida banded water snake - Florida, southeast Georgia. Introduced to Brownsville, Texas and California. Taxonomy Some sources consider N. clarkii compressicauda and N. clarkii taeniata to be subspecies of N. fasciata. Also, some sources have considered Nerodia fasciata to be a subspecies of Nerodia sipedon. References Other sources Herps of Texas: Nerodia fasciata External links California Nerodia Watch – iNaturalist Florida Watersnake – Nerodia fasciata pictiventris Further reading Linnaeus, C. 1766. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Duodecima, Reformata. L. Salvius. Stockholm. 532 pp. (Coluber fasciatus, p. 378.) Nerodia Articles containing video clips Extant Pleistocene first appearances Reptiles described in 1766 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Reptiles of the United States Fauna of the Southeastern United States